EPIC Alert 17.15

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E P I C A l e r t
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Volume 17.15 July 30, 2010
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Published by the
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Washington, D.C.
http://www.epic.org/alert/epic_alert_1715.html
"Defend Privacy. Support EPIC."
http://epic.org/donate
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Table of Contents
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[1] DHS Announces Dramatic Expansion of Airport Body Scanner Program
[2] Court Finds in Favor of Privacy Activist
[3] EPIC Urges Congress to Protect Social Network Users
[4] State Attorneys General Press Google on Street View Scandal
[5] EPIC Obtains Medical Record Database Contract
[6] Personal Information of 100 Million Facebook Users Leaked Online
[7] News in Brief
[8] Upcoming Conferences and Events
TAKE ACTION: Stop Airport Strip Searches!
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[1] DHS Announces Dramatic Expansion of Airport Body Scanner Program
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On July 20, the Department of Homeland Security announced a substantial
change in the deployment of body scanners in US airports. According to
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, the devices, which had once been part
of a pilot program for secondary screening, will now be deployed in 28
additional airports. The devices are designed to capture and store
photographic images of naked air travelers.
EPIC and several other groups have opposed the body scanner program on
the grounds that it passengers' rights. Earlier this month EPIC filed
a petition for review and an emergency motion in federal court, urging
the immediate suspension of the program and citing violations of the
Administrative Procedures Act, the Privacy Act, the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act, and the Fourth Amendment. EPIC's Freedom of
Information Act requests have revealed evidence that The Transportation
Securiy Administration has repeatedly misrepresented the program and
the scanners' capabilities, including their ability to capture, store,
and transmit naked pictures of travelers.
Air travelers have objected to the program's invasions of their
privacy, as reported by USA Today and other media. Travelers have been
subject to overly invasive searches without being consistently informed
of alternate screening methods. In addition, the scanners have not been
demonstrably superior to less invasive screening methods, and the
health effects upon travelers have not been adequately documented. By
expanding the program, TSA has ignored both EPIC's concerns and the
public's objections.
In related news, Dubai International Airport, one of the largest
airports in the Middle East, has announced that it will not deploy full
body scanners because they "contradict Islam." The devices are widely
opposed in by those of Muslim faith.
The effectiveness of the machines has also been questioned by Israeli
officials. In a recent address to members of the Canadian Parliament,
Rafi Sela, former chief security officer at the Israel Airport
Authority and a 30-year veteran in airport security and defence
technology, called the machines "useless," and said that he could
"overcome the body scanners with enough explosives to bring down a
Boeing 747."
EPIC: Petition for Review
http://epic.org/privacy/litigation/EPIC_v_DHS_Petition.pdf
EPIC: Motion for Emergency Stay of the Full Body Scanner Program
http://epic.org/privacy/litigation/EPIC_v_DHS_Motion.pdf
EPIC: Reply in EPIC v. DHS
http://epic.org/privacy/backscatter/EPIC_reply_final.pdf
EPIC and Coalition: Letter to House Committee on Homeland Security
Urging Investigation of DHS Privacy office
http://epic.org/security/DHS_CPO_Priv_Coal_Letter.pdf
EPIC: Petition to DHS to Suspend FBS Program
http://epic.org/privacy/airtravel/backscatter/petition_042110.pdf
The Economist: No Full Body Scanners for Dubai
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2010/07/full-body_scanners
Vancouver Sun: Full Body Scanners Useless, Security Expert Says
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010bodyscannerartl.html
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[2] Court Finds in Favor of Privacy Activist
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On July 26, 2010, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of
privacy advocate Betty Ostergren. Ostergren had challenged a Virginia
state law designed to prosecute her for drawing attention to the
state's online publication of Social Security Numbers (SSNs). EPIC
filed a "friend of the court" brief in support of Ostergren, urging the
court to hold that Ostergren's speech is protected by the First
Amendment.
Virginia provides "secure remote access" to certain public records,
including court records with millions of SSNs. Even though, by statute,
clerks are required to redact SSNs, this provision did not go into
effect due to lack of funding. Ostergren runs a website that
republishes SSNs collected from public records obtained by this" secure
remote access" in order to inform the public about the online
availability of personal information.
Publishing these SSNs exposed Ostergren to liability under a revised
provision on Virginia's Personal Information Privacy Act that states
that "a person shall not . . . [i]ntentionally communicate another
individual's social security number to the general public." The Act
provides an exception for records that are required to be made public
by law. Ostergren filed a complaint alleging that the revised provision
was unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
EPIC's brief urged the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the
lower court's ruling that the First Amendment protects Ostergren's
speech. The Court agreed that the provision was unconstitutional as
applied to Ostergren's speech via her website. The Court found that
Ostergren's website addressed a matter of public concern and that
Virginia did not seem to hold protection of SSNs a strong state
interest given that it did not provide funding to redact SSNs.
The Court entered a permanent injunction against enforcement of the
revised provision as applied to Ostergren's website "that simply
republished publicly obtainable documents containing unredacted SSNs of
Virginia [state officials]."
Opinion in Ostergren v. Cuccinelli, No. 09-723 (4th Cir. July 26, 2010)
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010ostergren.html
EPIC's "Friend of the Court" Brief, October 19, 2009
http://epic.org/privacy/ostergren/Ostergren_EPIC_Amicus_Brief.pdf
Ostergren's Website: The Virginia Watchdog
http://www.opcva.com/watchdog/
EPIC: Social Security Numbers
http://epic.org/privacy/ssn/
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[3] EPIC Urges Congress to Protect Social Network Users
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On July 28, 2010, EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg testified
before the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing on"Online Privacy,
Social Networking and Crime Victimization." The hearing focused on the
danger of phishing scams, social engineering tactics and poor privacy
controls that make social network users' personal information
vulnerable. Also testifying at the hearing were witnesses from the FBI,
the Secret Service, Symantec, and Facebook.
In his testimony, Mr. Rotenberg urged lawmakers to update federal law
to protect the privacy of social network users by requiring the
explicit consent of users to privacy changes. He said that Facebook's
constant changes to the privacy settings of users have made it
virtually impossible for users to control who gets access to their
personal information.
In May, EPIC raised some of these same concerns in its Complaint with
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charging that Facebook's conversion
of private information to publicly available information and the
disclosure of user data to third parties without consent "violate user
expectations, diminish user privacy, and contradict Facebook's own
representations." The FTC has, to date, failed to investigate
Facebook's business practices. As Mr. Rotenberg pointed out, this means
that Congress must now amend the federal privacy law to limit the
ability of Social Network companies to disclose user information to
third parties without informed and explicit consent.
As consumers are placing more of their personal information online,
members of Congress are becoming increasingly concerned about issues of
online privacy. In May 2010, John Conyers, House Judiciary Committee
Chairman, sent a letter to Facebook, Inc. asking for "a detailed
explanation of the information about Facebook users that your company
has provided to third parties without the knowledge of the account
holders, particularly in circumstances in which the users did not
expressly opt for this type of information sharing." On Tuesday, the
Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on Consumer Online Privacy.
During the hearing, Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Communications
Subcommittee, said he plans to introduce an online privacy bill to
create standards for how consumer data is collected and used for
marketing.
EPIC Testimony to House Judiciary Committee
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010epictestimony.html
Hearing on Online Privacy, Social Networking and Crime Victimization
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/hear_100728.html
EPIC Complaint to the FTC Regarding Facebook
http://epic.org/privacy/facebook/EPIC_FTC_FB_Complaint.pdf
Conyers' Letter to Mark Zuckerberg
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Conyers-Facebook100528.pdf
Hearing on Consumer Online Privacy
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010hearing.html
EPIC: Social Networking Privacy
http://epic.org/privacy/socialnet/
EPIC: Facebook Privacy
http://epic.org/privacy/facebook/
EPIC: In re Google Buzz
http://epic.org/privacy/ftc/googlebuzz/default.html
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[4] State Attorneys General Press Google on Street View Scandal
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Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced in a press
release that thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia are
seeking additional information about Google's collection of wi-fi data
from private, residential computer networks. In his press release,
Blumenthal states "Google's responses continue to generate more
questions than they answer."
Mr. Blumenthal also sent a letter to Google, asking for information
about Google's packet-sniffing software, the testing and review
procedures, and the internal investigation of the code that
"accidentally" recorded unencrypted wi-fi traffic in 30 countries over
a three-year period.
On May 18, 2010, EPIC wrote a letter to the Federal Communications
Commission recommending the Commission open an investigation into the
significant communications privacy issues arising from the data
collected by Google's Street View vehicles. Congressmen Joe Barton
(R-TX) and Edward Markey (D-MA) also wrote a letter to the Federal
Trade Commission inquiring into the legality of Google's actions and
asking the Commission to investigate on May 19, 2010 on the matter.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's Press Release
http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=2341&Q=463406
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's Letter to Google
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010ctattnygenlttr.html
EPIC's Letter to FCC
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010epiclttrfcc.html
House Members' Letter to FTC
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010housemmbrletter.html
EPIC: Street View Investigations
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010epicstreetviewinvest.html
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[5] EPIC Obtains Medical Record Database Contract
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EPIC has obtained and published a contract awarded last September by
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to Harvard Pilgrim Health
Services, Inc. The contract, obtained by EPIC under the Freedom of
Information Act, tasks Harvard Pilgrim with developing a working
version of the "Sentinel" system. Sentinal is a national database
containing millions of electronic medical records.
Much of the data involved in the Sentinel Initiative will be covered by
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
("HIPAA"), which provides a floor of privacy protections for health
information in the United States. However, at a December 2008 public
workshop on the Sentinel Initiative, experts stated that the FDA will
have a great deal of discretion in the kind of privacy policies and
protections in place for the Sentinel Program. Experts have speculated
that HIPAA would permit disclosure of some de-identified, identifiable
data. Research on data mining shows that even where data is
"de-identified" before it is shared, personal details can often be
matched back to true identities in a process known as
"re-identification."
In June 2009, the Government Accountability Office evaluated privacy
issues surrounding the Sentinel System and reported that, as of the
date of the report, "FDA [had] not yet developed a plan or set
milestones for when it expect[ed] to have these issues addressed." In
spite of this criticism, FDA has failed to publish a detailed
description of how Sentinel will honor patients' privacy expectations.
The contract obtained by EPIC indicates that FDA plans to perpetuate
its hands-off approach to privacy issues and outsources responsibility
for privacy protections to Harvard Pilgrim, ordering it to ensure that
"the uses of the data are compliant with HIPAA and any applicable state
and local laws."
The contract also indicates that Sentinel will operate on an ambitious
scale, linking not only to "health record systems, administrative
claims databases, and patient registries," but also, ideally, to "vital
records, chronic disease and/or cancer registries, birth defect
registries, and medical device registries." The scope of information to
be included in Sentinel is vast, covering such details as
race/ethnicity, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol use, blood and
tissue product use, special diets, and family health history.
According to the contract, Sentinel will access and utilize data
"primarily for active medical product surveillance," leaving open the
possibility that the system may also be used for other purposes. As of
January 2010, Sentinel was interacting with records relating to 60
million individuals, with that number expected to grow to 100 million
by July 2012.
EPIC: FDA's Sentinel Initiative
http://epic.org/privacy/medical/sentinel/default.html
EPIC: Medical Record Privacy
http://epic.org/privacy/medical/
EPIC: Re-identification
http://epic.org/privacy/reidentification/
FDA: Contract with Harvard Pilgrim Regarding the Sentinel Initaitive
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010fdacontract.html
FOIA Letter to FDA seeking documents regarding the Sentinel Initiative
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010foialttr.html
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[6] Personal Information of 100 Million Facebook Users Leaked Online
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Ron Bowes, a security consultant of Skull Security, created a web
crawler program that harvested data on users contained in Facebook's
open access directory. Bowes then made a 2.8GB torrent available which
lists all users whose privacy settings make their pages available to
search engines.
The file contains 171 million entries, relating to more than 100
million individual users?more than one in five of Facebook's recently
trumpeted half billion user base. It contains user account names and a
URL for each user's profile page, from which details such as addresses,
dates of birth or phone numbers can be accessed. Accessing a user's
page from the list will also enable the user to click through to
friends' profiles?even if those friends have made themselves
non-searchable.
Bowes claims that he did it as part of his work on a security tool. The
tool, he said, "is designed to test password policies of organizations
by using brute force attacks; in other words, guessing every username
and password combination." By downloading the data from Facebook, and
compiling a user's first initial and surname, Bowes was able to make a
list of the most common probable usernames to use in the tool. In
theory, researchers could then combine this list with a catalogue of
the most commonly used passwords to test the security of sites. Similar
techniques could be used by criminals for more nefarious means.
Bowes' posting underscores the continuing inadequacies of Facebook's
privacy settings which have resulted, largely, from the company's
continued - and often confusing - changes to privacy settings and
policies. On February 4, 2009, Facebook revised its Terms of Service,
asserting broad, permanent, and retroactive rights to users? personal
information?even after they deleted their accounts. Facebook stated
that it could make public a user?s ?name, likeness and image for any
purpose, including commercial or advertising.? Because Facebook's
current privacy settings work on an opt-out basis, those users who did
not actively change the default to limit the publicity of their
information left that information vulnerable to Bowes' web crawler
program.
EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg recently urged lawmakers to
update federal law to protect the privacy of Facebook users. Mr.
Rotenberg said that Facebook's constant changes to the privacy settings
of users have made it virtually impossible for users to control who
gets access to their personal information. He also said that the
failure of the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Facebook's
business practices means that Congress must now amend the federal
privacy law to limit the ability of Social Network companies to
disclose user information to third parties without informed and
explicit consent.
News article on Facebook user data disclosure
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010articlefb.html
Instructions on how to change one's Facebook privacy settings
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010fbinstruction.html
Facebook terms of service
http://www.facebook.com/terms.php?ref=pf
Marc Rotenberg's written testimony before the House Judiciary
Committee, Wednesday, July 28, 2010
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010epictestimony1.html
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[7] News in Brief
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Public Voice to Host Privacy Conference in Israel
The Public Voice will hold a privacy conference in Israel in
conjunction with the 32nd Annual Meeting of Information and Privacy
Commissioners. "Next Generation Privacy Challenges and Opportunities"
will feature civil society leaders, academic experts, and data
protection officials from more than twenty countries. It will include
discussions on full body scanners, biometric identifiers, electronic
health records, and international frameworks for privacy protection.
The Public Voice
http://thepublicvoice.org/
"Next Generation Privacy Challenges and Opportunities"
http://thepublicvoice.org/events/israel10/
The Madrid Declaration
http://thepublicvoice.org/madrid-declaration/
Steve Bellovin speaks to the Cybersecurity Policy Working Group
On Monday, July 26, 2010, noted researcher of computer networking and
security, Steve Bellovin, discussed the recently released White House
draft of the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace
(NSTIC). The NSTIC outlines the federal government's plan to use
third-party identification to reduce online crime and attacks. Speaking
to members of the EPIC-coordinated Cybersecurity Policy Working Group,
Bellovin pointed out that such a system creates major privacy concerns
but does little to increase online security. According to Bellovin,
third-party authentication does not prevent private companies from
sharing and aggregating user information. Moreover, Bellovin pointed
out, authentication does not ameliorate the danger of identity theft or
security breach posed by buggy and exploitable software. Bellovin also
said that better security could be achieved by more research into how
to build and manage large computer networks.
Steve Bellovin's Blog Post on NSTIC
http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb/blog/2010-07/2010-07-11.html
National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) Draft
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/ns_tic.pdf
Public Commenting on NSTIC
http://www.nstic.ideascale.com/
EPIC: Cybersecurity and Privacy
http://epic.org/privacy/cybersecurity/
Coalition Letter to White House Cybersecurity Coordinator
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010coalitionlttr.html
Wal-Mart Begins Tagging and Tracking Merchandise with RFID
Wal-Mart has announced that it will begin inserting Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) chips into some of its men's clothing, including
jeans, underwear, and socks, starting August 1. The retailer has stated
that its goal is to expand the use of the tags to its other merchandise
as well. Previously RFID tags have only been used in larger packages
for warehouse and distribution use, but this will be the first time the
tags are used in the stores for individual products that will be taken
home by consumers. The tags will remain readable from a short range
even after they are removed from the store.
Wall Street Journal Article Describing Walmart's RFID
Plans, July 23, 2010
http://www.epic.org/redirect/073010wsjartwalmart.html
EPIC: RFID
http://epic.org/privacy/rfid/
Katherine Albrecht: Spychips Website
http://www.spychips.com/
New York Ends "Stop and Frisk" Data Collection
New York Governor David Paterson signed a bill into law last week
requiring the NYPD to expunge the names and addresses in a database of
people who had been stopped and questioned by police but never charged
with any crimes. In signing the bill, Governor Paterson said that
"simple justice as well as common sense suggest that those questioned
by police and not even accused of a crime should not be subjected to
perpetual suspicion."
Bill requiring expunging of names and addresses
http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/071610Stopandfrisk.html
NYPD FAQ page on stop-an-frisk encounters
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/faq/faq_police.shtml#stop
EPIC: New York's Stop and Frisk Database and Privacy
http://epic.org/privacy/stopandfrisk/
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================================
EPIC Publications:
"Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws 2008," edited by
Harry A. Hammitt, Marc Rotenberg, John A. Verdi, and Mark S. Zaid
(EPIC 2008). Price: $60.
http://epic.org/bookstore/foia2008/
Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws is the most
comprehensive, authoritative discussion of the federal open access
laws. This updated version includes new material regarding the
substantial FOIA amendments enacted on December 31, 2007. Many of the
recent amendments are effective as of December 31, 2008. The standard
reference work includes in-depth analysis of litigation under Freedom
of Information Act, Privacy Act, Federal Advisory Committee Act,
Government in the Sunshine Act. The fully updated 2008 volume is the
24th edition of the manual that lawyers, journalists and researchers
have relied on for more than 25 years.
================================
"Information Privacy Law: Cases and Materials, Second Edition" Daniel
J. Solove, Marc Rotenberg, and Paul Schwartz. (Aspen 2005). Price: $98.
http://www.epic.org/redirect/aspen_ipl_casebook.html
This clear, comprehensive introduction to the field of information
privacy law allows instructors to enliven their teaching of fundamental
concepts by addressing both enduring and emerging controversies. The
Second Edition addresses numerous rapidly developing areas of privacy
law, including: identity theft, government data mining and electronic
surveillance law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,
intelligence sharing, RFID tags, GPS, spyware, web bugs, and more.
Information Privacy Law, Second Edition, builds a cohesive foundation
for an exciting course in this rapidly evolving area of law.
================================
"Privacy & Human Rights 2006: An International Survey of Privacy Laws
and Developments" (EPIC 2007). Price: $75.
http://www.epic.org/phr06/
This annual report by EPIC and Privacy International provides an
overview of key privacy topics and reviews the state of privacy in over
75 countries around the world. The report outlines legal protections,
new challenges, and important issues and events relating to privacy.
Privacy & Human Rights 2006 is the most comprehensive report on privacy
and data protection ever published.
================================
"The Public Voice WSIS Sourcebook: Perspectives on the World Summit on
the Information Society" (EPIC 2004). Price: $40.
http://www.epic.org/bookstore/pvsourcebook
This resource promotes a dialogue on the issues, the outcomes, and the
process of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). This
reference guide provides the official UN documents, regional and
issue-oriented perspectives, and recommendations and proposals for
future action, as well as a useful list of resources and contacts for
individuals and organizations that wish to become more involved in the
WSIS process.
================================
"The Privacy Law Sourcebook 2004: United States Law, International Law,
and Recent Developments," Marc Rotenberg, editor (EPIC 2005). Price:
$40.
http://www.epic.org/bookstore/pls2004/
The Privacy Law Sourcebook, which has been called the "Physician's Desk
Reference" of the privacy world, is the leading resource for students,
attorneys, researchers, and journalists interested in pursuing privacy
law in the United States and around the world. It includes the full
texts of major privacy laws and directives such as the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, the Privacy Act, and the OECD Privacy Guidelines, as
well as an up-to-date section on recent developments. New materials
include the APEC Privacy Framework, the Video Voyeurism Prevention Act,
and the CAN-SPAM Act.
================================
"Filters and Freedom 2.0: Free Speech Perspectives on Internet Content
Controls" (EPIC 2001). Price: $20.
http://www.epic.org/bookstore/filters2.0
A collection of essays, studies, and critiques of Internet content
filtering. These papers are instrumental in explaining why filtering
threatens free expression.
================================
EPIC publications and other books on privacy, open government, free
expression, crypto and governance can be ordered at:
EPIC Bookstore
http://www.epic.org/bookstore
================================
EPIC also publishes EPIC FOIA Notes, which provides brief summaries of
interesting documents obtained from government agencies under the
Freedom of Information Act.
Subscribe to EPIC FOIA Notes at:
https:/mailman.epic.org/mailman/listinfo/foia_notes
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[8] Upcoming Conferences and Events
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Privacy and Identity Management for Life
(PrimeLife/IFIP Summer School 2010)
Helsingborg, Sweden, August 2-6, 2010.
For more information:
http://www.cs.kau.se/IFIP-summerschool/
Privacy and Security in the Future Internet
3rd Network and Information Security (NIS'10) Summer School
Crete, Greece, September 13-17 2010.
For more information:
http://www.nis-summer-school.eu
Internet Governance Forum 2010
Vilnius, Lithuania, 14-16 September 2010.
For more information:
http://igf2010.lt/
"32nd Int'l Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners"
Jerusalem, October 2010.
For more information:
http://www.justice.gov.il/MOJEng/RashutTech/News/conference2010.htm
The Public Voice Civil Society Meeting:
"Next Generation Privacy Challenges and Opportunities"
Jerusalem, October 25, 2010
For more information:
http://thepublicvoice.org/events/israel10/
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About EPIC
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The Electronic Privacy Information Center is a public interest research
center in Washington, DC. It was established in 1994 to focus public
attention on emerging privacy issues such as the Clipper Chip, the
Digital Telephony proposal, national ID cards, medical record privacy,
and the collection and sale of personal information. EPIC publishes the
EPIC Alert, pursues Freedom of Information Act litigation, and conducts
policy research. For more information, see http://www.epic.org or write
EPIC, 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009. +1 202
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Your contributions will help support Freedom of Information Act and
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Thank you for your support.
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